In the south-western section of the area known as the Fertile Crescent, a civilization arose around 3500 BC. Known by most for their enormous works of construction, the pyramids, this civilization called the Egyptians, contributed largely to ancient society and the general development of the human race. Centralized around the Nile River, this civilization rose and fell, experience triumphs and catastrophes, and gradually created a legacy for themselves which we still remember and study today. The history of the ancient Egyptian civilization consists of five eras: the Pre-Dynastic period, the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, the Hyksos Era, and the New Kingdom. The first era of the ancient Egyptian civilization is the Pre-Dynastic period. …show more content…
The first ruler during this period, an Egyptian by the name of King Amhose I, overthrew the foreign conquerors and drove them out, establishing control and unifying both Upper and Lower Egypt. Once the Hyksos had been driven out, the Egyptian civilization began to regrow and prosper. However, this time the New Kingdom developed into a military-centric civilization, unlike the Middle Kingdom. Using the Hyksos military inventions, the Egyptians entered a period of rapid military expansion, conquering other people and, consequently, becoming the first Egyptian Empire. Instead of just focusing on trading and commerce, the New Kingdom combined military expansion and diplomacy with foreign trade to become a major international force, conquering Nubia to the south and Palestine to the north, although they were never able to conquer their archenemies, the Hittites. It was also during the New Kingdom that the term “Pharaoh” was adopted by the ruler of Egypt, starting with Thutmose III. A although kings were considered to be the “mouthpiece of god”, the title pharaoh mean that the ruler himself/herself was a physical manifestation of a god. During the reign of the Pharaohs, Egyptian society grew and flourished for almost 500 years, adopting customs and technology from other cultures and assimilating it. However, over time, Egypt weakened internally due to corruption, civil unrest, and foreign invasion. Eventually, invasions by the Sea People, the Assyrians, and the Berbers led to the overthrow of the New Kingdom and the end of ancient Egypt as a free
During the years of 3500 BC to 2500 BC, the geography of a land often impacted a civilizations development in great measures. Depending on the resources available or the detriments present due to certain topographical characteristics like rivers or deserts, a civilization could flourish or collapse. By studying the geographic features of growing societies like the Nile, Euphrates, and Tigris Rivers as well as the Mediterranean Sea of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the link between developing cultures and geography will be examined through sources, including Egypt: Ancient Culture, Modern Land edited by Jaromir Malek and Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization by Paul Kriwaczek. To determine the extent of its influence, this investigation will attempt to compare and contrast the role of geography in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, focusing on the civilizations’ various periods of development and settlement.
The term Predynastic denotes Egypt before the historically recorded sequence of kings and dynasties that starts ca. 3050 b.c. (see egypt: dynastic). Although there is no official beginning to the Predynastic, in Egyptian archaeology the term usually refers to the period that follows the appearance, ca. 5000 b.c., of a Neolithic food-producing economy in the Egyptian Nile Valley proper (as distinct from the Sahara at large). Evidence for reliance on food production using domesticated plants and animals (principally sheep, goat, pigs, cattle, wheat, and barley) occurs late in the Nile Valley relative to the fertile crescent of the Near East, possibly suggesting that hunting/gathering remained viable for a longer time span in the rich environment of the Nile floodplain. Once adopted, however, food production is linked with a long-term process of population growth, sedentism, and increasing social complexity in Predynastic cultures in the Nile Valley. The study of Predynastic Egypt has primarily been focused on the development of a series of different cultures in both northern and southern Egypt during the course of the two millennia from ca. 5000 to ca. 3000 b.c. The Predynastic period culminated in a process of political and territorial conquest during the second half of the Fourth Millennium b.c. (ca. 3400–3050) that included the expansion of the southern Egyptian cultural tradition over the rest of the country. The emergence of a politically powerful elite, governmental institutions, royal artistic and architectural styles, and the hieroglyphic writing system can be traced during the terminal stages of the Predynastic period, setting the stage for Egypt’s transition to the Dynastic period.
Egypt has one of the longest histories of any nation in the world. Written history of Egypt dates back to about 5,000 years, the commencement of civilization. While there is divergence in relation to Early Egyptian times, it is said that Egypt came to be around 3200 B.C., during the reign of a king by the name of Menes and unified the northern and southern cities of Egypt into one government. In 1675 B.C., Egypt was invaded by the Hyksos, people from the east, bringing along the very first of chariots and horses ever to come across Egyptian soil. Approximately 175 years later in 1500 B.C., the Egyptians had gotten rid of the Hyksos and driven them out. In 1375 B.C., Amenhotep IV had become the king of Egypt. During his reign he eliminated the worship of Egyptian gods and initiated the idea of only worshipping one god. But after his death, his ideas were retired and old ways were reestablished. Egyptian supremacy then started to decline around 1000 B.C. Between 1000 B.C. and 332 B.C., Egypt was ruled by many such as the Libyans, Assyrians, Ethiopians, and Persians. In 640, Muslims conquered Egypt and founded the city of Cairo in 969 and deemed it as the capital of Egypt. For many centuries Egypt was ruled by Muslim caliphs. A prominent ruler of this period was Saladin, who battled the Christian Crusaders at the conclusion of the twelfth century. In 1798 Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt but was then forced to withdraw in 1801 Turkish and British armed forces. In 1805 Mohamed Ali began ruling Egypt till 1848 and great changed the country in terms of modernization and its military. During Mohamed’s conquest, he borrowed a lot of money from the French and British, which later resulted in Egypt’s coloniza...
Around 3500 B.C.E to 3000 B.C.E., civilizations emerged in many places. Egypt and Mesoamerica are distinctive two of them. Considering the different aspects of civilization, historians can find some same characteristics and differences which are valuable for historians to understand civilization in-depth.
The most influential and important period of Egyptian history is labeled the New Kingdom. The New Kingdom covers the 18th, 19th, and 20th Dynasty. During this time Egypt expanded and reached its highest point as an empire under the rule of the great Thutmose III. Thutmose III was able to expand Egypt through the use of administration and governance as king. This was supported by
The ancient cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt developed into successful civilizations. One civilization the Egyptians developed was in the Nile River valley. Based off the "Mesopotamia and Egypt DBQ" packet, "Ancient Egypt was an advanced civilization in many areas including religion, architecture, transportation, and trade. Ancient Mesopotamia was one of the first civilizations that developed a form of government as well as organized people in political states." Based on the documents, Egypt and Mesopotamia developed into successful and advanced civilizations by effectively using the resources that surrounded them to solve problems and live happily.
Egypt was one of the first River Valley Civilizations. In Egypt there were big advances in art, math and science and also pottery. We still use the same number system and they even had fractions back in that time. During the Old Kingdom times the pyramids were built. The pyramids were tombs for the pharaohs of Egypt. These pyramids are one of the most popular historical sites in the world.
Was it a gift or a curse? The Nile is the world's longest river at 4,160 miles. Of that total, approximately 660 to 700 miles of the Nile are actually in Egypt. It is one of the four most important river civilizations in the world. Land in Egypt was called Black Land (representing life) and Red Land (representing danger). For Egyptians, the Nile meant the difference between life and death. Today, we know that the Nile influenced ancient Egypt in many areas of life such as providing food, shelter and faith to the people. Specific areas dealing with settlement location, agricultural cycle, jobs, trade, transportation and spiritual beliefs will prove the case.
‘The Hyksos forced Egyptian Pharaohs to look beyond their own borders, and involve themselves in the affairs and lives of their neighbor’s’ Through the notion of looking beyond their own borders, the necessity of constant battles was not only to expand but also protect Egypt’s borders, this eventually led to the image of the ‘Warrior Pharaoh’. Egypt became the pre-eminent power in the east due to talented civil, military and religious bureaucracies. The Hyksos ‘encouraged new nationalism and patriotism’ this could be seen through formation of administration, stable rule, gods and building externally while taking on board the establishment of the extensive diplomatic and trading contacts with the eastern Mediterranean region and Nubia. The economic influences created by the Hyksos include various influences that furthermore excelled New Kingdom Egypt to be a greater society. The ‘foreign rulers’ introduced olive and pomegranate trees as well as domesticated cattle to the agricultural practices to Egyptian society.
Approximately 5500 years ago four of the worlds' most prestigious ancient river civilizations had emerged. Our world has been left in astonishment and awe wondering how these civilizations were developed. Egypt and Mesopotamia were the first ancient river civilizations to create cities and their own ways of living. Society, geography, and religion played an enormous role in the development of the ancient cities. Although there is evidence of early Sumerian contact with the Egyptians, Egypt's civilization was largely self-generated and its history and cultural patterns differed from Mesopotamia.
Over thousands of years, the ancient Egyptian civilization been closely associated with religion, mythologists have considered itself one of the most important fundamentals of the Egyptian civilization, more than five thousand years, and the pillars of the establishment of the Egyptian state and standardization. However, I was always fascinated about the myths in the middle east, not because I was born in Iraq and grew up in an Assyrian family, it’s because the ancient Egyptians have contributed in adding many civilizational achievements to the world through the knowledge of their agriculture, stability, creating the first major central country in the region, and may be accompanied by the presence of major achievements in various fields in
Ancient Egypt is said to be one of the most successful of the ancient civilizations. This entire nation, based around the Nile river, was able to develop in areas such as mathematics, medicine, and astronomy that others so far hadn’t been able to do. They adapted to their environment and used the Nile river to their advantage, using it as a trading route, a means of protection from invaders, and a very successful system of irrigation system for their agriculture. The Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt (the Delta and Valley) is what started the evolution of the ancient Egyptian civilization. Being a united kingdom with a single, powerful ruler, allowed them to have a long and successful reign over the land,
Until today, architects and artists, draw inspiration and understanding from Ancient Egyptian art and architecture as they mastered it. The pyramids are masterpieces that bring wonders to other civilizations; they are marvel of human engineering and constructions. Also, the modern world has benefited greatly from the agricultural and irrigation techniques used by ancient Egyptians in the Nile Valley. Their success of their civilization depended heavily on their religious beliefs as it is what dominated and directed their lifestyle. To conclude, Ancient Egypt left an extraordinary imprint on the world today and many countries across the world value and houses their artifacts. The civilization of the ancient Egyptians was not civilized slip at the age of time. Ancient Egyptians civilization was a unique cultural characteristics and achievements that were authenticity. Ancient Egypt civilization has its own credibility among all civilizations, making Egypt the Mother of the World. Ancient Egypt originated in the valley, and the Nile Delta, where ancient Egyptians lived. Ancient Egypt’s cultural aspect refers to the language, worship, customs, organization to their lives, the life management, administrative affairs, their conception of the nature around them, and their dealings with their
Egypt was a complex civilization because all of the indicators show there was an Advanced government, specialized skills and jobs. complex religion, and social classes. It was a very complex City.
The early prehistoric dwellers on the Nile inhabited the terraces or plateaux left by the river as it cut its bed. Tools and implements left by these early inhabitants of Egypt show their gradual development from seminomadic hunter-gatherers to settled agriculturists. By 4000 bc the civilization of Egypt was in its earliest formative stages; the Predynastic period, which lasted until about 3100 bc, had begun.